The End of the Partnership
by GoldenNinde
Summary: It is my duty to inform you that the Brennan-Booth partnership is officially severed…” Why, without any explanation, aren't they allowed to work together anymore? The ex-partners will find out what's going on, and tensions will arise. NOW COMPLETE!
1. Prologue

_**Hey everyone! **_

_**I'm GoldenNinde (or just Ninde)! ;) This is my first Bones story, I hope you like. The timeline would be five months after the end of Season 3. Mid Season 4.**_

_**The good stuff is in the next chapter, but this one is necessary to understand what happens.**_

_**Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies are good.**_

_**Reviews are freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.**_

_**Reviews are good!**_

**The End of the Partnership – By GoldenNinde**

CHAPTER 1: Beginning of the End

"_It is my duty to inform you that the Brennan-Booth partnership is __officially severed, and that you, Special Agent Seeley Booth, will be required to assign another Agent amongst your department for handling consultations to the Jeffersonian Institute through Forensic Anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan, in the future."_

The letter was long. It was full of details and other meaningless things his mind couldn't comprehend. The only sentence he read over and over again was the first. The rest meant nothing. Nothing at all.

A week eariler…

"Agent Booth, Dr Brennan, good evening. Please sit down."

They exchanged a glance, and neither complied.

"Where's Sweets?" Booth asked. The man sitting before them in Dr Sweets' office was certainly not Dr Sweets. Both partners had come on Wednesday as usual, dressed casually as usual, five minutes late as usual. Only to find this man instead of the twenty-two year old therapist. He was rather short and slightly overweight, with dark hair flecked with silver and large blue eyes. He looked calm and relaxed, as though this was _his_ office.

"Dr Sweets no longer works for the FBI, he has been reassigned."

"You mean fired."

"I mean reassigned, Agent Booth."

Brennan was looking at the man in a silent, calculating manner. Her eyes assessed the situation as she let Booth ask the questions and came to conclusions of her own.

"Who are you, then?"

"I am your new therapist. My name is Dr Alfred Lenney."

"We don't need an evaluation anymore. Sweets already said we could keep on working together, and we meet with him because of another thing that has nothing to do with you." Even though his words were hostile, Booth didn't let his tone become so. He was simply questioning, used to getting answers he wanted. And he didn't like not knowing the answers, something he had in common with the woman standing beside him.

"Actually, Dr Sweets' reassignment had to do with malpractice, Agent Booth, and his evaluation was judged to be flawed and incomplete. You and Dr Brennan" here he nodded towards Brennan, who still hadn't spoken "will have to undergo another, although shorter, process with me."

A second glance was exchanged, and this time it was Brennan who spoke.

"Why were we not informed of this sooner? And short is not an accurate enough adjective. How long will this process take?"

"I will try to finish in three meetings. One with each of you, and finally one with you together. I can't begin until tomorrow, I'm not free today, but maybe you could meet with me first, Dr Brennan?"

"Tomorrow?" she involuntarily looked at Booth, a question on her eyes. He nodded imperceptibly, there were no cases waiting. "Yes, all right."

"Excellent. I will call with the time later today."

"I'll be working today, probably until around six or seven."

"_Bones_."

"Probably six."

"Very good, I'll see you tomorrow Dr Brennan. Agent Booth, I will contact you tomorrow about our meeting."

"Okay. You have both our office numbers?" Booth raised his eyebrows. There was something about this man he didn't like.

"Of course."


	2. Brennan vs Therapist

CHAPTER 2: Brennan vs Therapist

"_It is my duty to inform you that the Brennan-Booth partnership is __officially severed, and that you, Dr Temperance Brennan, will be required to assist a new Agent, assigned by Special Agent Booth, in future consultations to the Jeffersonian Institute."_

As she left her office, no one had the courage to stop her. Even the security guards shrank away from her impressive, absolute fury. Heads turned to watch her and then turned away, blinded. By what? Even she didn't know.

Six days earlier…

"Sweets got fired because of malpractice. I wonder what he did? Five bucks says it had something to do with his age!"

His voice over the phone sounded metallic and didn't capture it's full richness, but she knew it enough to be able to perceive the slightly worried undertone beneath the amusement.

"Booth, I'm parking right now. I'll see you in two days when we have our session together."

"That's okay, I'll call you later so you can tell me how this went."

"Bye."

She walked out of the car, not noticing how her footsteps subconsciously quickened until she left the dark parking lot, and entered the elevators of the J. Edgar Hoover building.

Her eyes immediately noted the minute details which would have escaped someone less observant. The obvious was the addition of a desk. Less obvious were the curtains, half drawn, couch about two to three inches forward, table one to two inches to the left, different books on the bookshelves.

Dr Lenney was sitting behind his desk, unlike Dr Sweets, who sat closer to them.

"Hello, Dr Brennan."

"Hi."

She sat down without being asked, and Dr Lenney wrote something down.

"I haven't even said anything yet."

"You sat in the left side of the couch."

"Obviously."

"Not the middle."

She didn't answer.

"Agent Booth usually sits on the right side, am I correct?"

She nodded, but still didn't answer, a strange look on her face. As if… almost as if she had just failed a test and was disappointed with herself.

"Well, I'd like to-"

"I think you should know I don't believe in psychology. It's unscientific and subjective. I've been told my refusal to alter my opinion about this can be difficult. I will try, however."

"Thank you, Dr Brennan."

She nodded.

"Well, the initial purpose of the evaluation was to determine whether you and Agent Booth were fit to work together, due to trying circumstances at the time."

"My father's trial."

"Yes. But I'd like to talk about something else right now. Dr Sweets wrote in his notes…" Dr Lenney consulted some papers for a moment. "Agent Booth was shot, five months ago?"

Brennan nodded.

"A bullet meant for you, Dr Brennan."

She didn't speak. He hadn't phrased a question, and she felt no need to reaffirm that sentence. It was hateful to her.

"As I was saying, Dr Sweets wrote this in his notes: The unfortunate incident regarding Agent Booth's shooting was excellently coped by Dr Brennan, who kept working despite her partner's supposed death, as a way of dealing with her feelings of grief over the loss of a friend. Later, the events surrounding the incarceration of Dr Zack Addy and the closing of that particular case seemed to re-establish the bond between both partners and make them compatible to work with each other once more."

Brennan had to admit that she was impressed with Sweets' language skills. She had thought his reports would be filled with "Totally"s and "Dude"s.

"You kept working after you thought Agent Booth died?"

"Yes."

"How soon after?"

Brennan shifted uncomfortably for a moment. This was the answer everyone seemed shocked about, the answer Angela had once tearfully told her was sad and wrong.

"The next day."

"I see. Dr Sweets wrote that you worked as a way of dealing with your feelings of sadness and, I would add, guilt."

"Guilt? I didn't ask him to save me!" her voice didn't grow much in volume, but something about the way she said it must have been wrong, because he wrote something down again and Brennan felt betrayed by her feelings. If only Booth was here, to help her watch her emotions, to help her get it right. "Agent Booth made a decision which could have gotten him killed, but didn't, and I-"

"Dr Brennan, did you cry?"

"Excuse me?"

"Did you cry Agent Booth's death. He is a close friend, you have been working for him for almost three years. Did you cry?"

"With him. Working _with_ him, not for him. And I absolutely refuse-"

"I'm afraid you have to answer, Dr Brennan. If you don't, I'll have to write something down about it. Something… important."

She looked winded. And angry.

"No." she said finally. "I didn't cry."

He didn't ask why, and she felt she'd missed something again, because she had thought that an obvious follow-up.

And suddenly something clicked.

"How did you know I wasn't told Booth was alive?"

The FBI had the list, so it they must have thought she had been informed.

"I… well, I don't see why I shouldn't tell you the truth. Your reaction to his death was very, very close to actual, physical shock, Dr Brennan. Dr Sweets was quite wrong in his notes, you see, you didn't work so intensely as a way of coping. You never began coping at all. And Dr Saroyan informed the FBI that you were not to be… _bothered_… during at least a month, due to the way Agent Booth's death had affected you."

The couch was sinking, or she was sinking into the couch. For a moment that's what she felt, a suffocating sinking sensation, until Temperance Brennan took control again. Although she registered Cam's kindness, she spoke with resolution.

"I'm sorry but I am completely in agreement with Dr Sweets' report, Dr Lenney."

He ignored her comment.

"I don't know why the FBI decided not to inform you, but it was obvious from every angle that you were unwell, extremely unwell, and that you didn't know he was alive."

He didn't know Sweets had been in charge of notifying her! Well, she wasn't going to tell him.

"All right, I'm satisfied with your answer, even though I can't agree with it. I can compartmentalise very well, which is what I did when I believed Booth to be… deceased."

There was a short silence, and suddenly Dr Lenney stood up.

"Dr Brennan, I think our session is over."

"Really?"

"Yes. I have learnt all that I need, and you may go."

She hesitated for a moment at the abrupt departure. Then she stood, and looking down at him, unknowingly said the words that would put the final stamp on the letter she would receive in six days.

"Agent Booth and I are just partners, Dr Lenney."

He didn't answer, and Brennan felt a twinge of unease. She wasn't good at guessing people's emotions, she knew and acknowledged Booth's superiority in this area, but it seemed to her as though Dr Lenney looked… victorious.

As she walked swiftly to her car, Brennan replayed the strange session in her mind, and for the first time in her life came to a conclusion without processing and cataloguing all the facts: she had just made a big mistake, and it would cost them.


	3. Booth vs Therapist

CHAPTER 3: Booth vs Therapist

"_It is my duty to inform you that the Brennan-Booth partnership is henceforth severed, and that you, Special Agent Seeley Booth, will be required to assign another Agent amongst your department for handling consultations to the Jeffersonian Institute through Forensic Anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan, in the future."_

He blindly went to his car, blindly because the anger had never been so strong before, he'd never felt so bewildered, so confused, so very, very angry in his life. There was a mistake but they would _fix_ it, _together_, they would make it right like always, because he couldn't lose her. No, he certainly couldn't lose her.

Five days earlier…

"Booth, I think you should be careful with Dr Lenney."

"Careful? Why?"

Her voice was slightly metallic, and he longed to hear it for real, because that would mean she was by his side. But she wasn't, yet. As usual when his thoughts strayed to this topic, his feelings began to spiral around him, confusing, distracting. Very… distracting. She wasn't by his side yet, but was he thinking metaphorically of physically?

Booth cursed silently. Both, always both, of course.

"I… don't know."

Suddenly he was alert. He knew that tone too well.

"Bones, are you all right? Did he upset you?"

"I'm fine Booth, it's just that… forget it."

"No, tell me what you're thinking!"

"Nothing, it's nothing. I'll see you tomorrow."

And she hung up. Booth tried not to think about how much he wanted her to do what he'd said. To tell him… everything.

*

The office had already begun changing. He could feel it, it no longer belonged to Sweets. This was Dr Lenney's territory now.

"Hi."

"Agent Booth, come in."

Dr Lenney raised his eyebrows when Booth sat on the right of the couch, but didn't comment on the fact. Neither did Booth, who felt, at the moment, quite confident.

"I'd like to begin by-"

"Listen _Dr_ Lenney…" with three words and a well placed tone the man had reduced the doctor to a mocking inferior. "Nothing is going to separate me and Bones, get it? Nothing. Not you, not Sweets, not anyone. So why don't you just _say_ it, just say we can be together and today you and I can both go home early?"

Pause.

"Well, that was quite the outburst, Agent Booth." Dr Lenney didn't look impressed. Or at least, not as impressed as a mocking inferior should. "There are several things hidden in those few sentences that have saved me quite a few valuable hours pouring over psychology books. Thank you."

Booth wasn't impressed either. He only coldly raised his eyebrows, giving Dr Lenney permission to elaborate.

"Your _nothing_ seems to include only no _one_, and not no _thing_. Implying perhaps that you think it's only some_one_, not some_thing_, who can get between you? Material things are so far from being a threat, they're nothing to you."

Dr Lenney chuckled, and the sound made Booth want to punch him.

"Also, I love the way you phrased that last sentence: say we can _be_ together, not say we can _stay_ together, nor work, the most logical one perhaps, but _be_."

There was a stony silence from Booth.

"Well, aren't you going to jump in your defence? Say that you're just partners, like Dr Brennan did?"

"Bones did _what_? What did you tell her?"

And finally, Dr Lenney showed the slightest crack in his armour. Because not even he could not react to the anger, but more than anger, the _danger_ radiating from Booth at that moment.

Dr Lenney flinched.

"I… well, you see, Dr Brennan felt the need to _assure_ me you were just partners, and I presumed you would too."

"Well, of course we're not just partners. We're great friends, we've been through things together, things which you, sitting here in your comfortable chair, can't even imagine. So what did you tell her?"

"Nothing. Nothing, she volunteered the information, so to speak."

"Good."

"I think now would be a good moment for you to describe your relationship with Dr Brennan."

"We're not just partners. And at the same time… we are."

Silence.

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"Please elaborate a little, Agent Booth? I assume you want to _be_ with her?"

This time, Dr Lenney felt an urge to push his chair backwards a little, just to distance himself from the look on Booth's face.

"What I meant was that of course our relationship isn't just professional. We're friends, sometimes we have coffee after a case… and it's also very professional because we are very aware of our… aware of the lines. We know we're not supposed have romantic feelings for the other."

"And you don't?"

"Don't what?"

"Have romantic feelings for the other."

"That's what I just said."

"You said you're no supposed to. Not that you don't."

"Fine, I _don't_. Happy?"

But this was the wrong tone to use with the doctor. The problem was that Booth realised it a little too late.

"I'd like to ask you to indulge me for a moment, Agent Booth."

"Indulge? What do you want?"

"I'd like you to describe doctor Brennan…"

Booth held his breath, knowing that wasn't the end of it.

"…physically."

"You're kidding, right? You saw her yesterday!"

"I'm aware of that. This is an exercise."

"No it's not, it's a ploy to get me to…" to what? And this was when Booth stamped _his_ letter. When he didn't finish that sentence.

"Please, Agent Booth." The doctor managed not to sound as though he was asking for a favour.

"Fine, you know what? _Fine_." And in quick succession. "Tall, blue eyes, shoulder length cobalt hair, pale skin, strong, thin."

He looked defiantly at the therapist, daring him to add anything to that list. But of course he did.

"And very beautiful."

"Yes, that too."

"You are aware that you just gave me the characteristics to identify her and distinguish her from a crowd."

"Yes. I _described_ her to you. That's what you asked for, right?"

"Describe doesn't necessarily mean words used to determine the general characters of a _suspect_, Agent Booth. You don't think of Dr Brennan as a suspect, do you?"

"Are you kidding?"

"No."

Silence.

"You know what, I never thought they day would come, but I miss Sweets. I'm outta here."

"You realise, I hope, that I'm the one who decides…"

"I don't care. I don't want to play stupid little games."

And Booth stood and left.

He thought of the words he'd used to dissect Bones for that stupid so-called therapist. They were all, of course, true, but as he walked to his car he felt… somehow…

Like a liar.


	4. Partners vs Therapist

_**Hey, I was so busy posting chapters I didn't post a disclaimer! In case it's really necessary… do you think Booth and Bones wouldn't have kissed **__**at least a 10000 steamboats worth if Bones was mine? Was that sentence waaay to oddly phrased? Either way, Bones isn't mine. *leaves to go cry "WHY? WHY!" Against the wall***_

_**This chap is slightly shorter, namely because I am a very impatient writer, and want to get to the good stuff without boring anyone.**__** ;) hope I'm doing okay so far!**_

_**Also… cobalt! Thanks for making me notice, Maverick Point, it's just that cobalt, in **__**Spanish, means a kind of bronze :)**_

_**-I wonder wether I could convince them that with each review Booth will remove a piece of clothing? Hmmm… maybe they don't realise I live half the world away from him!-**__** Muahahahahaha!**_

CHAPTER 4: Partners vs. Therapist

"_Although the Bureau appreciates the fine work done by both Agent Booth and Doctor Brennan during the course of their investigations, it is my duty to inform you that the Brennan-Booth partnership is officially severed, and that you, ..."_

They met halfway. For once, they met halfway and the questions burning inside of them poured out without restraint. What had happened? Did the other know anything? What would they do? When they could both draw a breath and calm down, they decided to do what they had always done best. They decided to solve the case.

Four days earlier…

She wasn't exactly smiling, but her eyes shone a little, not too much, he hadn't decided on the intensity yet. A 50 Watt bulb, maybe? Or the soft glow of a dimly lit room? He wondered whether asking her to look at him would sound bad, and then realised it _would_ be bad, because he was driving and, lately, it was incredibly… distracting… if she watched him.

She glanced at him, and he seemed to be concentrating on something. It was not the first time she asked herself what he was thinking. If only she could see into his mind, then everything would be clear. If only that wasn't a physical impossibility.

He parked the car he never let her drive and they got out, for once, not speaking. It had been a quiet trip, and they both wondered why.

*

"Doctor Lenney."

"Doctor Brennan. Agent Booth, please sit down."

He had known, of course, that Booth would take the right side and Brennan the left. He hadn't known they would sit as far away from each other as the couch permitted.

"We've already spoken separately and I'm quite confident that I've managed to correct Dr Sweets' notes, but it's necessary to speak with you together."

"Why? I'm the same person whether Booth is here or not. And my answers to any questions will remain the same."

"I'd like to observe how you relate, Dr Brennan. Live interaction is important."

She seemed to think about it, and then nodded.

"Yes, I understand. Of course it's a necessity."

Booth, who had been silent through all this, now glanced at Dr Lenney with apprehension. He wasn't going to apologise for what he'd done, and hoped the doctor wasn't going to punish him for that in some sick, psychological way.

"First of all, I'd like you both to turn away from each other."

It was a simple question, but their reactions held far from simple answers. Instead of doing as the doctor suggested, Booth seemed to actually turn and face toward Brennan even more, and she looked at her partner for a moment and then frowned, as though she had expected to find the cause of this strange request in his face, but hadn't.

"Why?" she asked, crossing her legs. A gesture not lost on Booth, whose eyes momentarily drifted there.

"On second thought, that won't be necessary." Dr Lenney wrote for a while and his face puckered in concentration. The duo exchanged another glance, this time nervous.

"Dr Brennan, please stand up."

This time, she did as he asked without complaining. Brennan found herself reacting nervously every time Dr Lenney wrote something down on his notes, and preferred he not do it.

"Let's talk about the case surrounding the arrest of your father, Dr Brennan."

"Why am I standing?"  
"It's an exercise."

"That is not a precise answer, however I suppose it justifies your request. The case surrounding the arrest began when we found human remains on the roof of the Hotel…"

*

An hour later, Booth was driving Brennan home.

"Did you think it was very strange, that he made me stand up and explain, and then he made you stand and tell the same story from your point of view?"

"Yes I did, Bones."

"Me too."

After a short pause…  
"It'll be fine, right?" her voice sounded confident, off-hand. And yet she'd asked, so he knew the answer was important.

"Of course. We're partners."

She smiled, and he finally decided how her eyes shone.

"Partners."

They didn't know they only had three more days left.


	5. Confrontation

_**Okay, so this should answer some questions, I think.**__** Not all of them. "Does Booth wear boxers or briefs?" is an example of the kind of question NOT answered in this chap. For that answer, please watch the first scene of The Truth in the Lye. ;)**_

_**This is also a VERY short one. The next is The One, promise!**_

CHAPTER 5 – Confrontation

Anyone foolish enough to try and stop them would have been crushed. No one did.

They entered the Hoover building and headed straight for Kevin Edwards' office. After Sam Cullen left the Bureau, Edwards had taken his place, and Booth had had a respectful relationship with him. Until now, of course.

The door flew open, and the papers on Edwards' desk fluttered. One flew off.

"Agent Booth if you ever do that again I'll report it."

When he looked up, however, he realised the person who's slammed his office door open with such force had been Brennan.

"Why?" she asked, her voice shaking. Booth looked angry, but Brennan looked angry and something else harder to identify… scared? Lost?

"You are refering to the severance of your partnership?"

"Of course we're refering to the severance! Why wasn't I notified before? Why separate us when we have one of the highest crime team solving rates in the United States of America!"

"Why did you separate us?" Brennan asked again.

Edwards eyed them both, from one to the other, slowly. He knew the answer to their question, but he didn't give it to them.

"I was told only one thing, and although I wrote the letters myself I'm not the one responsible for what happened."

"What thing?" Booth growled.

Edwards took a deep breath, knowing this would only bring more questions.

"I was told that if I allowed you to remain partners… that solving rate you love to boast about, Booth, would drop instantly."

"What the hell does that mean? That's not a reason. That doesn't answer her question. She wants to know why we can't be together anymore! Tell her!" Even though the situation was serious, Edwards couldn't help a twitch of his lips as he noted Agent Booth's choice of words.

"You think this is _funny_?" Brennan took a menacing step towards him.

"Of course not! Look, it was recommended, allright? Go bother your therapist, he's the one who recommended the separation."

The silence that followed this statement could have been split, separated into two chunks of solid mass of silence and in the space between them the answer to the existential question of the universe could have probably been discovered.


	6. Explanation

_**Hey guys! I'm so sorry I haven't replied to any reviews (tempus fugit, as my chemistry teacher loves to sa**__**y) but I want to thank you all SO much! My email is clogged (not literally, of course) with favourites and subscriptions! THANK YOU! You make my day! And remember: one piece of clothing for every review!!! Come on, he still has his socks on!**_

CHAPTER 6 – Explanation

"Why?" she asked again, but now her voice was slightly softer, more scared. He'd only seen her like this two other times (he kept count of the moments when his heart seemed to stop beating), and it never failed to scare the hell out of him.

"We'll find out, Bones, don't worry." He had to be strong for her, like he always was. He didn't have to think about the possible reasons himself. He had to stop wanting to break the car in the middle of the road and crush her to his chest so that she never had to use that voice again. He had to be strong, in control, like he had been whenever she had needed him. He also had to stop wanting to kiss her, that was just wrong and foolish.

"I don't understand. I dislike not comprehending a scenario, but this… this has no logic, Booth, no inductive _or_ deductive process! I don't understand!"

"Bones… we are going to fix this. We will figure this out and then fix it, okay? We're partners. We've always been partners."

"No we have not. We've been partners for three years and five months, Booth, the word always implies a bit longer than that."

She looked at him, just to check that she hadn't said the wrong thing, which hadn't used to bother her so much before. He had a faint smile on his lips, so she must have said something right. Amidst the terrifying confusion everything brought, she also felt a little like she had cheated. Because it _did_ feel like always, no matter how inaccurate the word was.

*

When they were standing just behind the office door (now with a sign proclaiming "Dr Alfred Lenney, Psychologist"), Brennan reached another conclusion without processing all the facts: whatever they found out here would be beyond terrible. She had some basis in fact, after all, any reason to separate her from Booth was bad, but she knew deep down that she didn't want to hear the reason. That it would shatter something inside of her (again incorrect, given the fact that words cannot actually break internal organs).

So she did what she had done before; she let herself tell Booth something was wrong, and hoped he would make it less painful. She trusted him.

"Booth, I can't. I… I can't do this. Can… could you?"

He was strong. He was being as brave as he could, for her, of course, anything for her, but this was something he couldn't do. Perhaps the only thing he couldn't do for her. He couldn't face this alone, he wasn't made of steel and rock, she made sure of that every day, every second her presence reminded him how easily he could burn.

"We can do this, Bones. Together, okay?"

She took a deep breath and their eyes locked. With a sigh of relief they simply let themselves give in, and melt into a wonderful, safe, strong hug.

But this was a mistake, because when she opened the door he still felt dazed and half-drunk with her body against his, and his gaze was lost, disoriented, and for a moment he didn't even know why they were here.

"Dr Lenney."

"Dr Brennan. Agent Booth. I had a feeling you would come and see me soon."

"Why did you do it?" she didn't shout, and she hadn't slammed the door either. But this tone was much, much worse. If steel could be made into sound, this was exactly what it would be like.

"It's not really a question of why, Dr Br-"

"Yes it is. Yes it is and you know it. You _know_ how good we are. Why did you lie to Edwards?"

"I didn't lie to Edwards. I gave him an accurate report and he made his own decision."

"Of course you lied! There is no reason for our solving rate to drop, no reason to suggest we would suddenly start performing worse in cases…"

"Yes there is, Dr Brennan. But I'm curious… I was expecting some force from _you_, Agent Booth."

Booth stopped staring at Brennan, and realised the look on his face was not fit to the situation.

"Do you know what would cause that drop I predicted?"  
"No." his tone was flat, expressionless. He didn't know, but he could guess. Of course he could guess. Suddenly it all seemed clearer. Now that he'd been asked, everything felt a little more real. The images sharper, Brennan's figure more precise, her eyes stronger. Of course he could guess.

And suddenly Booth _did_ know.

"I think, Dr Brennan, that you should ask Agent Booth."

"What? No! You tell me. Tell me this supposed reason."

"I'm afraid not."

"Why not! You've gotten us separated! That's…" and suddenly her throat seemed to constrict, without apparent cause other than her own words. "That's…"

"All right, Dr Brennan. Please calm down. If you want, I'll tell you."

Ex-partners waited in silence. Booth felt as though a part of him was losing itself forever.

"Frankly, it was the absolute lack of professionalism displayed by both of you."

"Lack of…" she couldn't find words, for the first time there was no accurate way of describing the absolute, earth-shattering, roaring, shaking fury! "When have we _ever_ been unprofessional! How _dare_ you, based on three meetings! You are not fit to call yourself a doctor! You ridiculous, pathetic…!"

"Bones, wait." A calming hand on her shoulder was all it took to let her stop.

"Explain, Dr Lenney." He didn't shout like her, nor did he use steel to make himself understood. He genuinely wanted to know, to hear the words come out of that despicable man's mouth, the words he had known for years now. The words he tried to fight every day.

"Dr Brennan, Agent Booth, it seems rather cliché and frankly, embarassing to tell you that Dr Sweets fabricated false reports to cover up something."

"Cover up?"

"Of course. The faked death of Agent Booth, that odd trip to a Ceramics Class, even ninety percent of your day to day meetings all shouted one thing, and, in an effort to hide that thing, Dr Sweets lied in every line. That is why he was fired. He lied about your relationship so that you could keep working together."

"Lied about… what?" she wasn't angry anymore. It had all left her in one blow, so that all that was left was a terrifying hollow.


	7. The Nile

_**I know,**__** I'm so horrible, I'm a tease… We're all waiting for Dr Lenney to yell those words, come ON! WHEN is the next chapter coming already!!!**_

_**Um… wait, this is me writing this stuff right? Ehe… ehe… ookay, I'm going to go write some more now. *goes to write some more***_

_**In case anyone's wondering, that T rating will make more sense in a future chapter. This one is a bit more angsty.**_

_**I think there are going to be 10 chaps in total!**_

CHAPTER 7 – The Nile

"_Of course. The faked death of Agent Booth, that odd trip to a Ceramics Class, even ninety percent of your day to day meetings all shouted one thing, and, in an effort to hide that thing, Dr Sweets lied in every line. That is why he was fired. He lied about your relationship so that you could keep working together."_

"_Lied about… what?" she wasn't angry anymore. It had all left her in one blow, so that all that was left was a terrifying hollow._

"Dr Brennan, surely you are a strong, intelligent woman. You haven't guessed?"

She swayed where she stood, and Booth immediately grabbed her arm and steadied her.  
All it took was for her to turn her eyes to him and step away, as though his touch burned. And now they both knew.

"There. The record is set straight. I'm glad you can now face-"

"No."

"No, Agent Booth?"

"No. You're wrong, okay?"

"I'm not wrong, Agent Booth."

"Yes you are!" she sounded… relieved. "Of course you are. We're partners. We're friends, and that's all. You can't separate us based on incongruent conclusions and imprecise knowledge of us gained over the course of three meetings."

"Dr Brennan, listen to me-" Dr Lenney sounded annoyed.

"No, _you_ listen" Booth said, his voice a low rumble. "You listen good. We're friends. Best friends, even. We are _partners_, and we share something you can't understand, which is fine because you haven't been through what we've been through. So you can't stop us from being partners because of a stupid recommendation."

He turned to face her for the first time since he'd touched her arm, and the look on his face right before his eyes met hers was a look of fear, not lost on Dr Lenney. Once they locked gazes, however, he was brave and resolute.

"Bones, let's go talk to Edwards again. He'll reinstate us once he hears us out. Don't worry."

"Yes, I agree."

She spun around and wrenched the door open, with much more force than was necessary. Her face was pale, and Dr Lenney knew why, of course. He also knew why, for the first time, Booth's hand didn't rest on the small of her back, and instead he simply walked behind her.

"Dr Brennan! Agent Booth, wait! Your feelings will severely affect your working relationship! That is the reason for your crime-solving rate to drop! What happened today constitutes as much of a catalyst that you might be completely unable to work together again! Even if by some miracle you convince Edwards of something that's untrue! Such strong repression is very bad for-"

But Booth had slammed the door shut.

*

"Booth, are you going there _now_?"

Those were the first words she'd spoken since they got in the car. In fact, the first since they'd left the office.

"Yeah. Don't… don't you want to?"

"Of course. Of course I do. But first… well, do you think we could go first thing tomorrow? It's late, and I need to do something."

He tried to hide the disappointment and the insecurity in his voice.

He failed.

"Oh, no problem. This can wait. It's not like it's… urgent. Yeah."

"No, it's not that. I'd _like_ to go now, but Edwards probably isn't in his office, and I really need to go to the Jeffersonian first. It's important, otherwise I'd come right now. Even though Edwards has probably left. I mean, it's late." She spoke in redundancies. Any other time he would have realised something was wrong.

"Sure, Bones. I'll drop you off."

Booth had always been so good at reading feelings. At guessing when a suspect was lying, at knowing when _she_ was telling the truth. But today he'd made so many mistakes already that, if he'd been able to see them, he'd have handed in his badge.

Basic mistakes, too. Like not knowing that pushing this lie was a great, fantastic, utterly useless effort. Like being unable to sense, through the haze of feelings spinning around him in a dizzying crescendo, unable to sense how irrevocably things had changed between them.

She got off the car with a thanks.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow at your place, okay?" old habits die hard.

"No, that's all right, I'll drive myself."

This time he worked even harder to hide the pain her rejection brought, and he fooled _her_.

Not himself, nor anyone else if they had been watching, but she was lost in her own emotions, and hardly noticed anything as she walked swiftly away, back to the lab.

_**OOOOooooooh, what is**__** this thing Brennan has to do in the lab? Why does she have to go there before facing Edwards? Has she suddenly changed her mind? Is de Nile REALLY only a river in Egypt? Did you get my fantastic pun? ReviewwwwwwwwwwwWWWWWWWWWW! Please. ;)**_


	8. Lie

_**Thank you for the reviews, guys!!**__** Actually, I WAS planning on finishing this story before Christmas… sooo… the more reviews, the faster I finish it!**_

_**Even to me it sounds oddly like blackmail… hmmmm…**_

CHAPTER 8 – Lie

She walked inside, and with each step everything around her crumbled a bit more. But she had a purpose, an objective. And that objective would make everything good again.

"Angela!"

"Brennan! Sweetie what happened? I heard… is it true? They won't let you and Booth work together anymore?"

"Please, I need your help."

Everyone in the lab had stopped working. Most technicians had seen Dr Brennan storm out of the Jeffersonian a few hours before, and everyone had heard by now about Agent Booth. There were a few bets on how long it would take for Booth to shoot a Candy Van already.

Hodgins looked over at them worriedly and Cam had begun removing her blood-soaked gloves and was walking towards Brennan.

Panicked, the anthropologist grabbed her friend's arm and dragged her toward her office.

"Please, Angela, I need to talk to you for a moment."

"Sure, Bren. Anything." With a look, Angela indicated to Cam that she shouldn't follow.

They entered Brennan's office and she shut the door behind them.

"Angela, you need to answer me two questions, okay? A simple yes or no will suffice for the first, but I will need your help with the second."

"Please, tell me what's going on, Bren."

"No time, I'm sorry. They want to…" but this was not a sentence she would finish. "Please, just listen."  
Angela sensed there was no point in arguing.

"Okay, okay, ask me."

Brennan asked the first question.

Angela's face transformed. From worry and pity, she was now happy. Wonderfully happy. Her eyes glowed, she took a step towards her friend and smiled a wonderful, wide smile.

"Of course! Of course you are! I've been waiting for this moment for so long you can't believe… oh gosh, Bren, _of course_ you are! And you'll see, he's also…!"  
"No. He isn't. He said so. But there's something else."

"What? But... wait, let's talk about this first. How did you realise? I mean… how come, now of all times…? And he _said_ he isn't? Because if he did, he lied, Bren!"

"It was the therapist. I… I don't know how he knew, I don't understand those things, I only know that he _saw_. And Booth did say, but I don't want to talk about that, all right?"

"Bren, you _have_ to…"

"No! No I don't. He said it and now… that's not why I'm here!"

Angela put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Relax, Brennan. We can fix this."

Brennan nodded. They would fix this, and she knew how.

"Yes, please sit. I… the problem is, I didn't know. I had no idea that I… That it had got to this… you are _sure_?"

"Am I sure of what? That you are in…"

"Yes." She couldn't hear that sentence again. Not say it, not hear it, not think it.

"Yes, Bren. I'm sure. And I think you are too. I think you already knew the answer to that question before you asked me."

Brennan took a deep breath.

"All right. I accept that as a fact." No one knew how much it had taken for her to make that into a truth. To accept how she felt. Or perhaps… it wasn't acceptance, it was more a realisation. Feelings _can_ break internal organs. "Now, I have a second question."

"Shoot."

"Can you teach me how to lie?"

*

He was driving home, but he wasn't thinking about the road. He thought the one thing he'd been sure about: _her_. That she… cared.

That they were united in their anger, that they were one in their quest for the truth, the horrible truth he'd already known. And so, that they would stand together when it came to getting their partnership back.

He knew she didn't feel the same, he'd always known that. But he'd thought she cared about him. At least, that he was her best friend, like he'd told Dr Lenney. They'd saved each other's lives so many times, they'd been strong and brave together, strong and brave apart. But always connected, somehow.

His rational side told him she did care. Not on the same level, but she _did_ care. The problem was that his observations were so subjective. He hoped he made her happy, so he thought she smiled a bit wider when he was around. He wanted to make her feel safe, so he imagined her standing a bit straighter if he was there.

They were friends. She had something she had to do, that was fine. They would meet tomorrow. She had her own reasons, her right to privacy. Her right not to want to ride with him in his car. But they were friends. Of that he was sure. And she cared. Of that he was trying to convince himself.

With a strangled curse, he realised he wasn't paying attention to the road, and that he was about to park automatically without checking his side view mirror.

And suddenly he punched the steering wheel. He let his full strength fuel his muscles, because the wheel hadn't taken him to his house.

It had taken him to his home. To her home.

*

"Teach you how to…?"

"Lie. Yes. I accept that I'm not a very good liar, and I'd like you to teach me how."

Angela raised her eyebrows, trying not to feel hurt. Obviously Brennan was unaware of the fact that she was implying that Angela was a good liar.

"But… why, Bren?"

"I have no time! Please, Angela, I'm not good at this sort of thing. You… oh."

The penny dropped, even though Angela knew that if she said that an "I don't know what that means" would probably follow. Or perhaps a search for the dropped penny.

"I'm sorry, I'm not saying that you are a good liar. But… well, you know what I'm trying to say, right?"

"Yes. But why do you have to lie, sweetie? Just tell me this so I know what you mean."

"I have to lie to Edwards."

"Booth's boss?"

"Yes. We are going to talk to him tomorrow and explain to him why Dr Lenney's evaluation was wrong and that we're not going to start failing and… and that I don't… that we don't…"

"Okay. Okay, Bren."

"I have to lie and say that I don't… even though I _do_…"

Angela stood again and sat her friend on the couch next to her.

"It's okay, you'll be fine…"

"I'll be fine as long as I can lie about everything I feel, Ange."

"I know. But you will. If that's what it takes to save your partnership, you will, Brennan."

.

_**Two chaps to go. Will Brennan be able to lie?**__** We've all seen Knight on the Grid, right? ("That's why we'll need the mRI IN BETHESDA!" I love that scene) What about Booth? How can they possibly keep working together after all of this?**_

_**Is it very sad that I am asking exciting questions about **_**my own story**_**?;) **_

_**Cya in the reviews, hopefully! Thanks again, guys!**_


	9. Act

_**Next one is the laaaaaast oooooneee! This is your last chance to revieeeeeeeew before the story is finiiiiiished… so make your suggestions! Even though I've got the chapter pretty much planned, it's always nice to hear fresh ideas. So… fresh ideas!**_

_**Thanks so much everyone! **_

**CHAPTER 9 – Act**

Acting. She'd acted before. She had been mildly surprised to realise she had been very good at it, that one time in Vegas, pretending to be Booth's… his what? Fiancée? Anyway, that had been incredibly easy. Natural, almost. She'd been _too_ good at it.

She understood her limitations now. No, she wasn't very good at acting.

But for him, she would try.

*

They hadn't really decided where to meet, but by coincidence (or maybe they just knew each other too well) they met in front of the building, not the parking in the garage.

"Hey." She said, and smiled tentatively.

Booth nodded and tried to smile in return. He opened the door and went inside, then held it open for her. This was new. Usually she went first and he followed.

They didn't exchange one word until they got inside the elevator.

"Bones…" the moment the doors closed he turned to face her. "We're fine, right?"

"Yeah. And we'll be better once they reinstate us."

"Of course. Edwards will have to listen to reason, right?"  
"Yes, if he's logical, there is no reason to separate us. Dr Lenney is a terrible therapist."

"Exactly."

*

"What can I say, at least you didn't slam the door this time. I'm honoured."

Edwards didn't even look up from his notes. Brennan took a step towards him, feeling the anger threateningly close to boiling point.

"That's because I let Booth open the door."

The words sounded more menacing than she'd intended.

"What is it now, then?" they hadn't picked a good day. Edwards looked bored.

"We want you to let us keep working together."

Edwards raised his eyebrows. They didn't know that this was far from boring, and they'd just made his day more entertaining.

"I already said that it's out of my hands. If I get a recommendation to separate you by the FBI's consulting psychologist, I am practically forced to follow it."

"Yes, practically. But come on, Edwards, you know that guy is full of it."

"No, I don't."

"Okay then, how weird is it that Sweets said the exact opposite? How do you know which shrink to trust?"  
"I trust the one who still has a job."

"Oh come on, are you serious? You're going to split the best team out there because of some stupid psycho?"

"Booth, the doc wrote a pretty compelling case."

"You seriously think…" he took a deep breath. He'd been trying to prepare himself for this all night. "You seriously think we're…?"

It was with numb surprise that he realised he couldn't even say the word. He'd thought he was ready.

It was enough for Edwards that he implied it, though. Thank God.

His boss looked uncomfortable. And he eyed Brennan for a moment, as if to check her reaction. Booth fought the urge to do the same.

"Look Booth, you know we always advise romantic feelings to be kept away, and frankly, it shows just how unprofessional of you it is to fall-"

"But what proof do you have?" her clear voice cut through the next word.

"My proof is the evaluation."  
"Three meetings is an evaluation now? We are not unprofessional. We have not begun failing suddenly without an apparent stressor. What kind of estimation is that?"

"Look, I know you guys are close…"

"No. We're _partners_. That's _it_. We're not even that close, we see each other a lot because we _work_ together. As partners." Wow, the words stung as he said them.

"Exactly. Out relationship is professional. We are very good at what we each do, and we work well together. I hadn't realised being friendly now constituted a federal offence."

"The issue is if you are romantically involved."

"Of course we're not involved! Ask anyone at the Jeffersonian!"

"Yeah, or at my department. You know, the one you run."

"Enough."  
Edwards stood up, feeling oddly powerless as they both towered over him.

"I can't assign a new therapist especially for you just to corroborate what Dr Lenney said."

"We know that. We're not asking for that."

"Then what are you asking for? You know I can't just say I've changed my mind, Booth."

"That's not what I'm saying either."

"Then _what_?"

"One month."

"Excuse me, Dr Brennan?"

"You give us a probation period of one month. If we suddenly begin performing horribly, we'll know the evaluation is correct, which it isn't, and you have our permission to split us up for good. But at least you'll have tangible evidence."

There was a pause, during which Booth wanted to turn around and hug her, and then kiss her until she couldn't breathe, for being so smart and coming up with this idea.

Edwards looked from one to the other. He'd been an Agent for a very long time, and now he was the director. He knew his body language.

No crossed arms, either of them. They weren't defensive, they were _aggressive_. They wanted this. For a moment, Edwards wondered whether this was all for the victims. They were known as the pair who cared, driven, to the point of obsessive about their work. Was it possible that this was all for their work, and not for each other? He'd heard the rumours, of course. And hell, he couldn't blame either of them. The doc was stunning. And Booth… well, Booth was quite famous for sending secretaries into a tailspin of happiness when he blinked, so…

But could it be that they really didn't have anything going on? He knew how amazingly counter-productive two Agents could be if feelings got in the way. But those two… if there _was_ anything going on, they would have acted on it. They weren't exactly a textbook protocol abiding pair, were they?

One month.

Yeah, he could give them one month.

"You realise this is at my own personal risk, right?"

"Yes." She didn't sound relived yet. That would come.

"My head is on the line, here."

"We know, man. But you'll see."

"I'd better."

*

Edwards was good. He was even pretty good. But this was just a colossal fail. If he couldn't see what was going on between those two, he should quit.

.

.

_**Okay, like I said, your last chance to throw ideas at me! And by throw I mean push the pretty little button there.**_

_**The best is always saved for last. We know they'll let our kids keep working together (wow, I'm like fifteen years younger than them and I call them kids already…? I feel old!), but **__**there's still one thing that hasn't happened yet. *wiggles eyebrows suggestively***_

_**Say it. Saaaaay it?**_


	10. One month

_**Hey! Remember all those times when I said: this will have 10 chaps?**_

_**Well, I REALLY meant 11! Sorry guys. But number 11 is coming up soon, no worries! Thanks SO MUCH for the reviews! *dances around a little***_

_**Oh, and in case anyone is wondering… the second part of Double Trouble is in the making. Just… don't hold your breath until Xmas, it IS tomorrow after all!**_

_**MERRY CHRISTMAS!**_

CHAPTER 10 – One Month

It wasn't easy.

It had never been easy, but this was worse. There were so many close shaves.

Not with the cases, of course. They were so used to living with this added strain that they fought it, and they won. When it came to the cases, victim was first, emotions and tensions were second. They solved all three of them, and in two they put the murderer in jail. Not bad odds.

But the other part… oh, it wasn't easy.

The worst moment was probably the least apparent. They were walking to his office, not speaking or arguing (it was a silent month) and she walked infront.

He didn't put his hand at the small of her back anymore. What she didn't see was that he always reached out instinctively, and then shook his head.

Charlie was busy with his notes. This was not unusual, Charlie was hard working. He worked. It wasn't Charlie's fault.

He simply didn't see the pretty anthropologist.

They collided, and she almost fell. Almost, because holding her safely in his arms was Booth, of course.

How long does it take for someone to regain their balance? It seemed seconds and eternity that she stood there, eveloped in his warmth and strength. But finally he had to let her go.

"You okay?"

"Sure."

And again, in silence, they kept walking.

Since Brennan had been forced to admit to herself what had happened, she had a look of surprised disbelief on her face whenever she saw Booth. She'd read about the physiological responses our body generates when our eyes process the object of affection. She'd expected the usual ones, and she'd already felt most of them (this she realised with some surprise, because they hadn't really registered). Increase in heart rate, saliva production, pupil dilation, arousal… but no one had told her about the choking sensation at the pit of her stomach. Or the curious inability to form semi-coherent sentences if he stood too close or looked too directly.

Brennan felt cheated. No one had ever told her it was this complicated. Most processes couldn't even be explained biologically!

Yes, it wasn't easy.

Booth, one the other hand, was only mildly better off. He had known. He'd been trying to fight it with all he was worth, but he had known, ever since he almost lost her, and he realised part of him would have died if she's stayed there buried forever… he had known. So he didn't feel surprised when all of his reactions multiplied tenfold.

The fact that he wanted to do things to her whenever he saw her had also happened before. So he was ready now to clench his fists if she walked beside him, to avoid backing her into a wall and kissing her and letting his hands roam everywhere. He looked away if she bent to examine a bone, just to avoid the urge to grab her and kiss her and let his hands roam everywhere.

He stopped trying to fight. Fighting was something he had always been good at, but this was different. He wasn't good at fighting this.

They still had coffee, in the last case. They told themselves all this tension was because they were nervous: at the end of the month Edwards would decide wether he let them keep working together or not. And after that, everything back to normal.

Part of this was true, they double checked results, wrote very careful and detailed reports…

When they got the call on the thirty first they weren't surprised.

"Meet me at my office, Agent Booth, Dr Brennan."

*

"I'm happy to see you continue to work as hard as ever. You can keep being partners, although I'm warning you right now that I'll be monitoring you very closely. Just in case."

Just in case…

They stood to leave, and to their relief, a small burden did come off. But the rest was all still there.

All of it.

*

And suddenly, Booth cracked.

"Hey Bones, you want to grab some Thai and celebrate?"


	11. Truth

_**Well, this IS the end. I'd like to thank everyone very, very, VERY MUCH for the reviews and the encouragement! This was my first Bones fic and I really wasn't expecting such a great reaction! I try to keep everyone in character, and hopefully I cr**__**eated an interesting story.**_

_**Again, thanks so much! You are all amazing!**_

CHAPTER 11 – Truth

_And suddenly, Booth cracked._

"_Hey Bones, you want to grab some Thai and celebrate?"_

Why now? Why not during that terrible, tense month? Or why not before, when he was still trying to deny what had been going on?

The words rushed out of him and he realised that he'd just passed that famous point of no return everyone seemed so fond of mentioning.

"Yeah, sure." She looked surprised.

As they emerged from the building, he opened the door for her, and then put his hand on the small of her back. He didn't see her inadvertent smile as she felt his touch.

*

"Thanks for dinner, Booth."

Was it possible? Maybe they would be all right after all. The worst thing that had happened during the entire meal had been his complete inability to look anywhere but at her lips, which suddenly fascinated him. But if he could learn to live like this… if he could learn to work with her knowing what he felt and without trying to avoid it…

Maybe that was enough. Maybe feeling for her was enough.

"Booth?"

He snapped back to attention. He'd parked the car in front of her building (neither of them remembered, but they had gone into the Hoover building in separate cars. Tomorrow Brennan would realise hers was still there) and she unbuckled and opened the door.

"Yeah. You're welcome, no problem."

"I'll see you tomorrow at work." He couldn't resist flashing her his brightest grin. This was a sentence he was happy to say.

She managed to nod shakily in return, and began walking away, thinking how incredible it was that she positioned one foot in front of the other after that smile.

"Hey Bones!"

She turned around.

And this time, her legs locked and she stumbled. Because otherwise, the usually graceful and composed (and _balanced_) anthropologist would have dropped to the ground. The look of intensity in Booth's face was one she'd never seen before. Or perhaps never recognised.

"Did you mean it?"

"Mean what?"  
"We're… friendly? That's all we are?"

He was honestly asking. He didn't know, didn't see.

"We're partners, Booth." Right? That was the correct answer, wasn't it? It was the one she always used, the perfect escape-goat.

"Yes, partners."

She nodded again, and turned to open the door.

"Just partners." His voice caught her off guard. He had gotten out of the car and stood on the pavement.

"Booth, are you okay?" he didn't look okay. He looked… possessed.

"Bones, I'm really good at knowing when someone is lying."

She froze.

"Yes, I've always praised your ability to-"

"I'm even unusually good at it. I can _feel_ it, when they aren't telling the truth. I can almost… taste it."

He began walking to her, slowly, like a predator. She stiffened. Something was happening and she didn't understand it. Something was changing right before her eyes.

"Did you lie to Edwards?"

Silence.

"No, of course not. Did _you_?"

"You're lying." He didn't speak very loud, but she heard his furious whisper.

"I'm… no I'm not."

"Answer me with the truth, Bones. Did you lie to Edwards?"

"No!"

He stepped even closer. They were three feet apart.

"Liar."

"I didn't!"

"Answer the truth, Bones! Did you lie that day!"

"No!"

He stepped right into her space and grabbed her arm, putting two fingers at her wrist. They seconds passed in a blur of nearness. His breath… oh god, she could taste his _breath_. But he didn't even look at her. He was looking at her wrist.

"Your pulse says otherwise."

He let go, as if disgusted.

Well, it was his turn to be humiliated like that. Temperance Brennan didn't like being made a quivering fool of.

So she stepped right with him and put two fingers on his neck.

Booth gasped.

"What are you doing?" his voice, so low, was like rolling thunder. She could sense the explosion coming soon.

"Something is making your pulse rocket, too." How _dare_ he?

But this was too close, and his thoughts seemed to disperse with every breath she expelled. He was beginning to forget his anger, his fury at her for being so damn strong and smart and beautiful. And perfect.

"You haven't answered me yet, Bones." He reminded her, and she felt him swallowing. Her fingers still rested at his neck.

"Your pulse isn't slowing."

"Neither is yours." When had he taken her wrist again?

They were interlocked, too close. Both feeling the other's heartbeat.

"Answer me." He pleaded, moving his face even closer. His dark eyes scorched reason away from her mind. It was incredible, how easily he seemed to do this.

"I… didn't…" but her voice was feeble, defeated.

"Liar." He breathed again, and it was too much. Everything was too much, his body, his breath, his lips were an inch away, his eyes searched and searched and it was… too… much!

He saw it. The moment when her eyes, always shining, always filled with passion or dedication or concern, when her eyes seemed to glaze. He sensed it. Felt it as he began to lose her, because it had happened once before.

There was no way he was going to lose her.

No way.

So he greedily overcame the little space daring to come between their lips and in a rush, he brought her back again.

She dug her foot into his toe and twisted her body so he slammed into the light post.

Dizzy and drunk from the kiss, he collided with it and couldn't help a slight smile creep up on him. He looked at her, still dazed. And suddenly he came back to earth as he saw the same expression on her face.

It couldn't be…

But it was. All the markers where there, in those beautiful features. The dilated pupils, the stunned look, the shallow breathing…

And joyfully, amazed, he took the step and kissed her again, stronger, more passionately.

And this time she responded, again taking him by surprise with her strength, like she always did.

*

Right before they crashed into her apartment, devouring each other, she put her hands on his shoulders and pushed away.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked quickly, panting.

"Nothing. I just wanted to tell you… I lied."

He smiled.

"You lied." He smiled wider.

"Yes."

"I love you." His voice was soft, for once. Not rough and raw (that would come) but sweet, simple.

She nodded. She had accepted her part a month ago.

"I love you too."

*

*

*

*

*

_**Now it's time for your review! Hopefully **__**you forgive the cliché ending, but I had to have an "I love you" end, just for this first fic, pleeeease? ;)**_

_**Hey, this song worked for Double Trouble, so it may be (VERY) sad that I'm reusing it… but, if I may say so myself, the lyrics do fit pretty well…**_

_**Do you know the song "If you're happy and you know it"?**_

_**Well then, sing along!**_

"_**If you've just finished this chapter please review!**_

_**If it made you roar with laughter please review!**_

_**If it made you bored and sad,**_

_**Either way I'll just be glad**_

_**That you took the time and that,**_

_**You'll review!"  
**_


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